


Were We Dumb or Just Younger? (Who knows)

by LadyoftheDawn



Series: Those Damn Songs Made Me Do This [3]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, M/M, Modern Era
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-30
Updated: 2021-01-30
Packaged: 2021-03-16 18:27:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,729
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29086839
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyoftheDawn/pseuds/LadyoftheDawn
Summary: Arthur doesn’t expect to see him again.Not in this town.Not in this cafe.Not after all these years.
Relationships: Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Series: Those Damn Songs Made Me Do This [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1679035
Comments: 10
Kudos: 82





	Were We Dumb or Just Younger? (Who knows)

**Author's Note:**

> Heavily inspired by a song called 7 Summers (by Morgan Wallen)

_“ But I wonder when you're drinkin'  
If you find yourself thinkin'  
About that boy from East Tennessee  
  
And I know we both knew better  
But we still said forever  
And that was seven summers ago  
  
In southern comfort  
Were we dumb or just younger?  
Who knows  
  
Back then you used to love the river  
And sippin' on a sixer with me  
Does it ever make you sad to know  
That was seven summers ago? ”_

  


Arthur doesn’t expect to see him again.  
Not in this town.  
Not in this cafe.  
Not after all these years.  
  
The sound of a customer yelling about an unfair price calls his attention and that’s how he spots him. He tries to stay calm, even though he can hear his heart booming in his ears and his body suddenly feels out of place and awkward and when he aims to pick up his Macchiato, he swats it with the back of his hand instead, making the coffee spill out a little.  
  
Merlin is taller, taller but still as lean as he always is. The fat won’t build up no matter how much he eats, they used to have a small experiment on that years back. He dresses nicer, too, with a long black coat with a white t-shirt, and a good pair of jeans. His red scarf has something that looks like a brown leather necklace hidden underneath.  
  
He holds the door open for a beautiful young woman. She has with her, a baby stroller with a boy with her eyes inside. The eyes that are glistened with curiosity. They’re all wet, save for the boy who has the stoller roof to cover him. It’s raining outside.  
  
They seem perfect together, an ideal family like the one you see in the ads and things like that. The boy keeps calling for their attention and they are giving it to him generously, smiling all the while.  
  
And that smile, oh, he can remember that smile very well. The simple smile he finds highly contagious. The smile that always has an affect on his heart greatly and what surprises him is the fact that it still does, somehow, after all these years.  
  
They choose a table quite far from him yet not out of sight. Merlin lifts the boy up and puts him in a highchair. The mother gets up and walks to a pastry counter at the front.  
  
It seems dumb now, that he still has all those memories. The memories of how they used to sneak out to an open field where no one could find them, rolled about on the itchy floor of the earth and poking grass and, sometimes, rolled on to each other to steal a kiss on a nose or a cheek.  
  
Arthur cuts up the waffle in his plate into a big chunk and stuffs it into his mouth, only to realize how silly it is a second later when he finds it’s too hard to chew on and his cheek bulges oddly. He’s just trying to find something to do, really, trying not to think about the past so much, trying to brush it off like he did all these past years, but it’s hard when someone who has a significant part in those memories is sitting there in the same room with him.  
  
He remembers when they used to share a can of beer he snuck out of his dad’s fridge and snacks Merlin hoarding from his place, and later, made fun of each other when someone coughed uncontrollably from drinking or eating too fast. He also remembers when they used to talk about things, anything and everything that had happened in their life.  
  
It has been raining outside for a while now. A long while. So long that when the rain stops his ear rings weirdly. And although the chatter sounds in the cafe fills up the place, it’s still noticeable that something is missing.  
  
And he’s thinking back again. Thinking of the day they had to leave everything behind and sprint home because, out of nowhere, it started pouring like crazy and they were all wet from head to toes. When they almost reached their place, Arthur pushed Merlin towards a tree and kissed him, feeling the fast thud, thud, thud under his palm which was pressing on his heart.  
  
It appears to be a special day for their son. His mom brings a small cupcake which has a lighted candle dipping on its top to their table and starts singing happy birthday, Merlin sings with her. Some people in the cafe turn to them then start singing along and clapping, including Arthur. When the song’s over, it’s the turn of dada and mama to give the boy his presents. He tears the paper wrap open and what he gets are a Lego set and a green-fluffy duck that quacks when he presses its tummy. He looks happy with them.  
  
Arthur wonders if Merlin still remembers the gifts they used to exchange at that time. One day, Merlin came up with a blue plastic ring and two days later he gave a real ring to him, the one his mom had given him, though he didn’t tell Merlin the story behind it, just assured him that he didn’t steal it from somewhere. With Merlin’s bony-teenage fingers, the ring wouldn’t fit on any of them, so he just took it and said with a cheeky smile that he’ll ‘keep it somewhere near his heart all the time.’ Arthur guessed it was in his shirt’s pocket, though he never really asked where exactly it was.  
  
He looks at Merlin’s hand and can’t see the ring he’s looking for. Of course, why would he wear it? He has a wife now, for god’s sake. Arthur feels stupid. So, so, stupid and the thought that Merlin must have thrown it away already terrified him. And why on earth he still has that stupid plastic ring is something he can’t really explain.  
  
The woman says something that makes Merlin throw his head back and laugh, attracting people’s attention from all around him, but he doesn’t notice that and keeps on laughing. Arthur looks at his ear and then lower, lower to the stretch of his neck, thinking, if it still taste the same. The taste of sweat, youth, and sometimes, craziness and endless possibilities.  
  
The kid wants attention from his parents but they’re talking to each other and ignoring him completely. He throws his fork down, at the end. They both startled by the loud clang. Merlin is the one who bends down to pick it back up, and when the boy takes it back, he wraps his hands around that little hand firmly, looking the boy in the eyes and starts teaching him something.  
  
Arthur can almost feel that on his own hand. He remembers it now, after it vaguely lingers at the back of his head for a long time. They used to hold hands, almost like that, but with their fingers entwined, forehead resting together, saying, forever, their gaze level. They kissed, after that, for no one cared how long, or how many times someone had to pull back, gasping for breath but then dive right back in. The considerable amount of tears were mixed in that kiss. It was their last kiss, their kiss goodbye, and it was the sweetest he could remember.  
  
He finishes his plate and stands up, weighing between leaving and bursting in on their son's birthday to say hi and recall their past. It’s ridiculous, even just to think of it, and kind of uncalled for, bringing up past memories that he’s not even sure Merlin remembers just like that. How awkward would that be? He pays the bill and makes his way out of the cafe quietly.  
  
Outside, he stands in cold after-rain air and sighs mistily through his nose, searching for a cab, forcing his eyes not to look back and staring instead at a woman and her daughter waiting for their ride across the street. An old man from a block away whistles a gloomy song, making this gray day even more somber. He puts his hands in the warm pockets of his dry coat and stretches his neck to the far end of the road where he still can’t see a bloody cab.  
  
Someone pulls at his arm so hard he almost punches that someone, but it’s Merlin, standing there, dumbly, staring at him with so many feelings that Arthur’s sure it’s reflecting those inside his head. Merlin is breathing hard, hyperventilating, and his scarf is hanging loosely around his neck. He must have been running. Then all of the sudden, Arthur was pulled into a kiss. Their teeth knock but when they catch each other’s rhythm it’s all smooth and familier. He let past memories flood into his brain until he’s choking with it, and curses at himself for not having a better way to deal with them but to cling on to that bittersweet feelings and Merlin's shirt like they’re his lifeline.  
  
But no matter how much he doesn’t want the kiss to end, he needs to force Merlin back by his shoulders. He can’t do it, not like this. He looks through the glass door into the cafe, and sees Merlin’s wife smiling at them with the boy on her lap, waving. Arthur waves back in slow motion, extremely confused.  
  
Merlin follows his gaze and says, “Oh,” and “That’s my friend, Freya. I’m her son’s godfather.” and Arthur says, “Oh,” and Merlin says “Sorry, that was such a rude greeting.” And Arthur says “No,” and pulls him in, and says, “Not at all.” And Merlin smiles and Arthur smiles and they’re kissing again. Between the haziness of it all, his thumb fishes Merlin’s necklace out without he intended to and he says “Sorry.” but Merlin pulls it all the way out and it’s his ring, the one he gave him. “It still won’t fit on my fingers.” Merlin says, chuckling softly. Arthur chuckles, too, he cups both sides of Merlin’s face with his hand, observing it until his eyes are brimming with tears and he thinks he might burst with happiness just looking at this face. He hugs him firmly and Merlin does the same and Arthur’s heart is warming up again, after all these years.  



End file.
